Pages

Monday, July 16, 2012

Joey Votto to miss significant time due to injury

The Reds were on the receiving end of some very grim news on Monday night as it was announced that their All-Star and MVP first basemen, Joey Votto, has a torn meniscus in his left knee that will require him to undergo arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday. The 28-year old is expected to miss 3-4 weeks.

The injury was suffered on June 29th at San Francisco when Votto slid into third base during the fifth inning of a Reds victory. He had been playing through the pain ever since and quite frankly, it showed. The Canadian native was batting .281 with no homers and only two RBI in the month of July.
His absence leaves a huge void in the middle of the Cincinnati lineup at a time when everything was seemingly starting to come together for them. The Reds had just recaptured sole possession of first place after finishing off a sweep of archrival St. Louis on Sunday. The win marked a season-high 6-game winning streak and also put the squad a season-best 12 games over .500 at 50-38. Needless to say, the loss of Votto suddenly puts a ton of burden on the shoulders of Brandon Phillips andJay Bruce, amongothers, to attempt to make up for his lost production.

Here's a statement made by Reds GM Walt Jocketty:

“Joey Votto met with the medical staff this evening and has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his left knee. He is going to have arthroscopic surgery tomorrow and should miss 3-4 weeks. Joey is very comfortable with the decision and is eager to return to the lineup.”

And here's a statement made by Votto himself:

“It is in my best interest and in the best interest of the team to do it now so that I can be healthy during the last two months of the pennant race.”

Votto was hitting .342/.465/.604 with 14 HR, 49 RBI, 36 2B, and 52 RS entering play on Monday. He currently leads all National League hitters in several offensive categories including doubles, walks, and on-base percentage, among others.